Are ants an issue?

[krista74]

Hi all

I've just been out to my isolation pen visiting the sick and recovering chickens. One of their pens has a massive trail of ants passing through it, swarming around the feeder and then through all the bedding. They are your regular garden variety black ants, not fire ants or bull-ants.

Anyway, my girl does not look particularly fussed about it, but I'm wondering if this is an issue? I can move her into the pen next door with a neighbouring chicken but their current set-up is working quite well, but for the ant issue.

Do I need to worry, and should I be doing something about this? What would you suggest, in that case?

Thanks!

- Krista

 

[ThePRfan]

No,she is fine.

 

[aart]

Probably not....but....would nice if there were an easy way to change their path.
Are they eating or carrying away the feed?

Not sure what to suggest... what is their source and destination?

There must be something rather benign that you could put in their path to reroute them.

 

[Jajika]

I agree. Move the food to a corner and see if you can change their path.

You may also take a rag and some water to wipe out those on the trail and see if you can disrupt the flow.

 

[krista74]

I ended up moving the whole pen! We had a bug issue so I moved the wire cage they were in to a spot way across the yard.

I suspect the ants were coming for their feed. Not so much their pellets, but the vegie scraps perhaps.

This morning the new spot had ants in it too! I guess we are in the bush so it is to be expected. We are fighting a losing battle, ha ha!

The girls seem happy enough though so I won't panic.

Thanks for your advice!

- Krista